Dr Showkat Hussain honoured by the sahitya Academy in Delhi

Srinagar: Dr. Showkat Hussain Tali, also known by his pen name Showkat Shifa , has been honored by the Sahitya Academy, The Indian Academy of Letters, New Delhi. One of his short stories has been selected for inclusion in The Sahitya Academy Anthology of Short Stories. Dr. Tali is currently serving as the Head of the Department of Pediatrics at GMC Anantnag. The selected story is from his recently published Kashmiri language book “Bachi, Bachi Doctor te Bachi Doctori,” which was released by the J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages last year at the Historic Tagore Hall in Srinagar. The story revolves around a poor young man whose elderly mother dies in a government hospital due to a postponed and subsequently canceled surgery. This postponement occurs because a relative of a minister is operated on out of turn. The old lady, who had been fasting overnight in preparation for the surgery, suffers from hypoglycemia and dies of a sudden cardiac arrest. The young man, devastated by his mother’s death, reacts violently, leading to his arrest and imprisonment, preventing him from attending his mother’s last rites. While in jail, he develops a psychiatric disorder. Upon his release years later, he faces further abuse from villagers, eventually being sent to a psychiatric hospital. The story highlights the impact of stressors in triggering or worsening psychiatric illnesses and the importance of addressing these stressors to prevent serious mental health issues. Dr. Showkat Shifa is also a renowned poet. His first poetry collection, released by the J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages and MAS at Tagore Hall in 2021, received the Shahpara Maraaz Award for the best book of the year. In 2022, he was invited by the Sahitya Academy to recite his poetry in New Delhi. Principal GMC Anantnag, Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb, congratulated Dr. Showkat Hussain Tali on this prestigious honor, praising his literary achievements and contributions to Kashmiri literature.